On June 18, the Leaders in Industry-university Cooperation 3.0 (LINC 3.0) project group of Kyung Hee University (KHU) and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) signed a cooperation agreement at KHU. The agreement was signed by the head of the Corporate Innovation Support Center at LINC 3.0 and the team leader of the Dept. of Lifelong Education at the SMOE. This agreement establishes that the 2024 Kyung Hee Design Marketing Support Group (KHDMSG) will carry out the design marketing tasks for SMOE.

What are the LINC 3.0 Project Group and KHDMSG?

 LINC 3.0 is a project led by the Ministry of Education and managed by the National Research Foundation of Korea. It aims to foster specialized universities that lead industry-academia-research cooperation. Selected universities provide students with various field training opportunities. KHU was selected for LINC 3.0 in 2017.

 The KHDMSG is one of the key programs of LINC 3.0 and has been operated by the College of Art & Design since 2018. It connects small and medium-sized enterprises facing design marketing challenges with students from KHU, allowing students to assist solve real-world problems while gaining valuable experience. The KHDMSG has maintained a partnership with the Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency and collaborated with Namsan Public Library last year. This new agreement aims to maximize the outcomes of programs conducted by institutions under SMOE.

Details of the Agreement

 About 60 students from the KHDMSG, including students from the Dept. of Visual Information Design and the Dept. of Digital & Art Design, are participating in the project under the guidance of Professor Jung Je-yon from the Dept. of Visual Information Design. The students were recruited through announcements from the participating institutions.

 The agreement focuses on providing design marketing support for the Lifelong Education Center and libraries under SMOE. Prof. Jung said, "The KHDMSG is addressing the shortage of personnel and capability in the corporate design marketing field with the support of students, and through this, students have gained practical experience." She added, “This agreement follows a similar format to previous collaborations.”

Goals of the KHDMSG 

 The KHDMSG is a representative project of the KHU LINC 3.0 and is of great significance. This project helps students and companies grow together through collaboration, while providing students internship and employment opportunities.

 Jung said that KHDMSG is currently collaborating steadily with Seongnam and aims to expand into neighboring areas such as Yongin and Suwon, near the Global Campus. She also expressed her desire to further expand cooperation with public institutions, similar to last year's partnership with Namsan Public Library and this year's agreement with the SMOE. Finally, Jung added that she wants to increase student participation, and strengthen benefits to them.

 The launch ceremony of the KHDMSG collaboration with SMOE will be held in September with student participation. The project will be conducted for three months, from September to December. In February 2025, a performance exhibition will be held to showcase the project results. This agreement will be an excellent opportunity for students to apply knowledge they have learned in the classroom.